Danny

 

Danny is back in Fran's life and wants to get married. 

 

by

Mary Ann 

(maryanncleveland@prodigy.net)

"Oh, ma...I don't know what to do! All my life I've been wanting Danny to propose, and now that he does, all I keep thinking about is how much I love those three kids." Fran Fine laments to her mother. She is sitting at Sylvia's kitchen table just hours after her ex-fiancé Danny Imperielli had proposed to her. She had hastily accepted, but she doesn't want to leave the job that she has come to love over the past year.

 

I know sweetheart, but it's still just a job. Don't you want a life of your own?" Sylvia says sympathetically. She's not crazy about Danny. She has secretly hoped over the last year that Fran and her boss Maxwell Sheffield would get together. Sylvia and the Sheffield's butler Niles had often discussed how Mr. Sheffield seemed quite beguiled by Fran.

 

"You know I do, ma," She says sadly. 

"So?" Sylvia says. She wants her daughter to be married. It's been her only goal in life the last twenty-nine years.

 

"So I guess I'm getting married!" Fran says convincing herself that it's what she wants. But, why does she feel that she is missing out on something? Like the person for her is right under her nose, but she can't find him. 

 

 

********** 

 

Fran arrives at the Sheffield mansion. She opens the front door and decides it's best that she tell Mr. Sheffield immediately. Might as well get it over with. She thinks. Why am I so nervous about telling him? It almost feels like I'm about to break up with my boyfriend or something. She is very confused by her feelings. Even though she isn't completely aware of it, she is crazy about Maxwell Sheffield. She has subconsciously pushed any tender thoughts of him out of her mind for months now. She was absolutely in awe of him and still can't believe her good fortune a year ago when he took her to live in his beautiful home as his children's nanny. 

Fran knocks on his office door. Max and C.C. are working as she walks in. "Um, Mr. Sheffield, can I talk to you about something?" She says standing nervously in front of his desk. 

"Of course Miss Fine." He says looking at her appreciatively. She always took his breath away in that black mini skirt she was wearing today. "My, you look lovely today." He says his heart beating a little faster.  

"Thanks, you look nice to." She loves when he wears that navy blue double-breasted suit. He looks so dashing in it. "Uh, Mr. Sheffield, I don't know quite how to tell you this. I... um, I'm getting married." She stops as C.C. lets out a yelp.  

"Yaaahoooo! I mean you? To who? Oh it doesn't matter! Do you need a dress? A ring? A ride to temple? Ohoohaha, I'm feeling positively giddy! I have a million phone calls to make! I'm so happy...for you dear." She cries as she trots out of the office. 

Fran turns back to Mr. Sheffield. Her news has left him trembling and depressed beyond words, though he tries to hide it from her and is surprised himself at his reaction. "So, married. Umm, who's the lucky man? I didn't know she had been seriously dating anyone lately. He thinks sadly.  

"My ex, Danny." She says more happily than she actually feels. 

"WHAT? After how he cheated on you with Heather Biblow! How could you?" He cries outraged. Max is stunned by her odious plan. That bloke doesn't deserve someone like her! He thinks angrily. 

Stunned by his reaction she says. "Mr. Sheffield, if I can forgive him I think you can." She smiles and touches his shoulder. Her touch sends a small jolt right through him. 

"I don't suppose more money could entice you to stay?" He asks hopefully rubbing his hands together nervously. He is racking his brain trying to think of something that will entice her to stay. The shock that she is going to marry that Imperialli bloke has made his mind a complete blank. 

Fran just smiles sadly and shakes her head.  

Max decides he has to put on a brave front for her sake. I can't selfishly ruin her chance at happiness. He thinks gallantly. "So." He says rubbing his hands together again. He walks over to her. "I suppose this means you'll be leaving us. You'll be greatly missed, um, by the children. He says tenderly. I am bloody well going to miss her too! He thinks surprised at his current strong feelings.

 

"I'll miss them too." She says sincerely. "I've come to love them almost as if they were my own."

 

" Would you like me to be there when you tell them?" He says sadly. I can't believe this is happening! The children will be as crushed as I am.

 

" Oh, do we have to tell the children?" She says not realizing till now how hard that is going to be. She hadn't really thought it all the way through. She had forgotten how hard it was going to be to tell the kids. 

"I think they'll notice you're missing." He says taking her hand. 

"Can't you just tell them I'm taking a bath?" She says slightly desperately. She blushes as she realizes how ridiculous that sounds.

 

" Miss Fine, you'll be gone forever." Forever. He thinks. My god! Forever! Suddenly he wants to just be by himself. He hasn't felt this rotten in years. Maxwell Sheffield has never been one to over analyze his emotions. He can't fathom the reason for his intense depression. 

 

The talk with the children went horribly. Maggie and Brighton were old enough to realize that this was the beginning of the end. That soon Fran would be out of their lives forever. Poor Gracie was going to lose the woman who had become her mother. They were distraught, but Max had instructed them to put on brave faces. He didn't want them to ruin Miss Fine's chance at marriage and happiness.  

Niles didn't take the news much better than the kids. He was going to be losing the woman that he had come to be very fond of over the last year. They had become pals and confidants. He was also furious with Mr. Sheffield for letting her go so easily. He knew is boss was in love with Miss Fine. He had been for months now. He also knew that Max wasn't consciously aware of it. Well I'm going to have a talk with him before it's too late. Niles decides walking to Maxwell's office. 

 

"Sir, what are you going to do about this?" He says standing in front of Maxwell's desk. He looks expectantly at his boss. Niles is trying to control his anger. It's not easy for him. 

Surprised by his angry tone Max looks up from his paperwork. "About what, old boy?" 

"About Miss Fine, of course! Surely you're not going to let her leave us! She's become part of the family!" He says looking straight into Max's eyes.  

"I've offered her more money! What else can I do?" Maxwell says desperately. "I don't bloody well want her to leave either!" He says standing up wringing his hands nervously. 

"Then tell her you love her!" Niles blurts out. He hadn't meant to be so direct, but Maxwell Sheffield has always been so out of touch with his feelings that, by the time he finally realizes them, it will be too late. This terrifies Niles. 

Max looks up in open-mouthed disbelief. "What are you talking about Niles? What do you mean I love her?" He cries stunned that Niles had said it. Of course I'm fond of her and very grateful for what she's done with the children, but love? I don't think so. He ponders. Then why do I feel so blasted lousy? He thinks sadly. 

Niles knows that he has done his part. He has planted the seed in Mr. Sheffield's mind. The rest was up to his boss. "Well, I apologize if I was wrong, sir. If the thought of her in that man's arms for the rest of your lives doesn't bother you, than I am wrong." Niles says smugly leaving Max to his thoughts. Max shudders slightly as his mind pictures Niles last words. 

 

**************** 

 

Fran is in her bedroom packing for her move. This should be the happiest time in my life, why do I feel so bad. I mean, I always wanted to be married to Danny, didn't I? She thinks retrospectively. She is subconsciously justifying her current plans to herself. Mr. Sheffield took the news awfully well after he settled down about it being Danny that I was marrying. Well, that's good, I guess. Boy, he looked so gorgeous in that suit. He always looks gorgeous. Oh, why do I have to feel like this about him? Suddenly she stops packing. Feel like what about him? How DO I feel about him? 

Fran sits on the bed to analyze her feelings. "Oh, my god! I think I'm in love with him!" She whispers surprised by her sudden confusion. "Knowing that I am going to be out of his life forever has just made me realize it!" She suddenly bursts into tears at the realization that he really is the man of her dreams, and that it can never be. He such a great person, not at all like you think someone as rich and handsome as he is would be! She thinks reflecting on when she actually fell for him. Well, it's for the best that I'm leaving this house. Like he could ever love a nobody like me. She thinks back. Yet, there were times I've caught him looking at me that took my breath away. She thinks in awe. Forcing herself back to reality, Fan realizes. Nahh...you're imagining things. This is for the best, now that I know how I feel about him, it would be torture to stay here and not be able to love him outright. She convinces herself it really is for the best and sadly continues packing.  

Max knocks on Fran's bedroom door. The sight of her packing makes him suddenly comprehend the permanence of the situation and his heart sinks to the floor. Oh, dear god! She's really going to leave me...us! Trying to put on a brave face he walks in the room. "Um, Miss Fine. I just wanted to see if there is anything you need, and to give you this check as a wedding present." He says giving her a sad smile and handing her the very generous gift. 

Fran gasps as she sees the amount of the check. "Oh, Mr. Sheffield! This is too much! Thank you!" Fran cries hugging him tightly. The feeling of her body against his surprises and excites him. His heart is now pounding rapidly. They cling to each other for a little longer than is proper for a friendly hug, neither wanting to let go. Fran grudgingly backs away without looking him in the eyes. Max steadies himself on her bedpost for a second. He is breathing rather heavily. His knees are actually trembling slightly. He is stunned by his physical reaction to her hug.  

Fran wasn't doing much better. The feeling of their bodies together; along with her newfound discovery of her feelings for him, have left her shaking. "I'm going to miss all of you so much Mr. Sheffield." She says tears threatening to fall. She sits on the bed and looks up at him. "Oh, Mr. Sheffield, I'm scared. Maybe I'm making a mistake." She looks at him with tears in her big brown eyes. 

Oh, god, she's going to break my heart with that _expression. He thinks sadly. He sits down next to her and puts his arm around her. "There, there Miss Fine, it's just pre-wedding jitters." He says taking her hand. What are you doing you blithering idiot! Why are you talking her into it! Even though Max doesn't want her to leave, he genuinely knows that he can't be the one to talk her out of the marriage. He wants her to be happy, and knows that she wants to be married.  

Fran puts her head on his shoulder as he hugs her protectively. "Thanks for everything, Mr. Sheffield." She looks him in the eyes. "I will never forget you." She whispers putting her hand on his face and kissing him softly on the cheek. She lets her kiss linger there a second or two longer than was appropriate for a friendly kiss. This causes Max's heart to race. His breathing gets a little heavier. She gets up and resumes her work. 

Max sits on the bed looking straight ahead. His heart is pounding madly. He slowly gets up and leaves her room. He goes to his bedroom and collapses on the bed. Oh, dear god! What do I do now? She's never given me the slightest indication that she has any feelings for me. How can I be in love with her? Is Niles right? Do I love her? She's leaving for good, after the wedding she'll be out of our lives forever! He realizes. 

Max falls into a deep sleep brought on by his severe depression. He doesn't wake up until the next morning. 

 

************* 

 

Fran has her bags packed and is descending the stairs in her black outfit with the faux leopard fur collar and cuffs that she wore on the day she was hired a year ago. Max sees her in it and his heart nearly breaks. He remembers distinctly the first time he laid eyes on her. His heart did flip-flops at her loveliness that day. She was like no one he had ever met. He had been hopelessly drawn to her. Now here she was in front of him in that outfit, only this time she was leaving him forever. It was all he could do to hold back the tears. 

"Well, this is it...it's time for me to go." Fran says trying to sound happy. The Sheffield's and Niles are gathered together for comfort. Only C.C. is happy and animated. She is helping Danny take the luggage out to his van. The children have been warned by their father not to try to stop Fran from leaving and mumble their goodbyes as she hugs each one individually. It's Niles turn. "You scarecrow, I'll miss most of all." She whispers hugging Niles. Well, almost most. She thinks sadly of Mr. Sheffield. She walks slowly over to Maxwell. 

"Miss Fine." Max says smiling sadly down at her. His arms outstretched to her. She walks into them and looks up at him. The broken hearted look in his eyes shakes her to her core. "I'll miss you terribly." He whispers in her ear. He gives her a tender kiss on the cheek. Max unintentionally squeezes her shoulders, not wanting to let her go. 

"Goodbye, Mr. Sheffield. I'll miss you more than you'll ever know." Fran whispers. Suddenly she hugs him desperately. She can't let go. She so badly wants to tell him her true feelings. Max's heart skips a beat at her words. She'll miss me more than I'll know? What the bloody hell does that mean? His heart starts pounding harder. 

"C'mon, honey! Your ma's waitin' for 'ya. I told her I'd bring you there in a half hour!" Danny says gently pulling her of their embrace. "Good bye everyone, see you all at the wedding!" He takes Fran's arm and starts to lead her to the door. C.C. is happily holding the front door open for them. 

Fran turns and looks in Max's eyes as she is being led away. Are those tears in her eyes? He thinks. As he watches Danny take her permanently out of his home, his blood turns to ice. He is physically becoming nauseous. His heart is pounding madly witnessing Miss Fine being slowly led out of his life by a man who isn't nearly worthy of her. Max and Fran's eyes lock as she is silently imploring him to rescue her. Max is gazing into her eyes, desperately wanting to run over and drag her away from the thief that is stealing her away from him. But he is rooted to the spot; his heart is now threatening to burst through his chest. Their longing gaze is only broken as C.C. happily closes the front door behind them. 

At that, the kids run up the stairs crying. C.C. goes happily to the office. Niles is flabbergasted. He looks at Mr. Sheffield shaking his head in disgust. "Are you made of bloody stone? I witnessed that look between the two of you. What kind of man could let her be dragged off by that Neanderthal?" Niles cries furiously. Before he says something he will regret, he walks away to the kitchen slamming the door behind him. 

Maxwell is now shaking and quickly sits down on the sofa. He buries his head in his hands. After a while he sits up. He runs his trembling hands through his hair. "Oh, dear god...what have I done? How the bloody hell could I not stop her? Niles is right, what kind of man am I?" He whispers. His heart is ready to explode. He hasn't felt this horrible since his wife died five years ago.  

Max walks dejectedly into his office and locks the door. He sits behind his desk. "What do I do now?" Suddenly for the first time in five years, Maxwell Sheffield cries. No soft tears are these. His body is racked with sobs. He lays his head down on his arms on the desk. "Oh, Miss Fine, Miss Fine! I do love you! How could I have been so stupid not to realize it before it was too late?" He looks up and spies the bottle of scotch on the table. He walks across the room to it. The first shot calmed him down...the last shot, several hours later finds him laying passed out on the loveseat. 

 

********************* 

 

Two days have passed and it is the eve of Fran's wedding. The children have barely spoken and Max was noticing that they were already regressing slightly. All the magic Fran had worked on them this past year was slowly threatening to unravel. Niles hadn't spoken to him except to answer simple 'yes, sir or no, sir' to his questions. C.C. was becoming more aggressive flirting with him. Now that Miss Fine wasn't here to turn his head, as Fran always did when she walked into his office in one of her mind-numbingly short skirts, C.C. has free reign.  

But all that was far from his mind. He has only one thought. That he had made the biggest mistake of his life not stopping Miss Fine from leaving. Max has been beside himself for two days. He feels exactly as he did when Sara died. It was like he lost his wife all over again. I don't know how I can go on like this. He thinks desperately. 

Niles had gone to the store for groceries. Max gets up from the couch to answer the doorbell. He is stunned to see Val standing there. "Hello, Miss Toriello, do come in." He says stepping aside. Suddenly he realizes that he is genuinely happy to see someone who connects him with Miss Fine. 

"Hello, Mr. Sheffield. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you. It's kind of important." Val says a little nervously. She has always been in awe of him and didn't really know him well personally. 

"Of course, please let's go to my office." He says extremely curious as to why she is here. He takes her hand and leads her to his office. 

They sit side by side on the loveseat. Val starts slowly. She is now very nervous being so close to him for the first time. "Mr. Sheffield, what I'm going to tell is in the strictest of confidence. I made a vow not to, but I just can't keep it!" She says anxiously. "In fact Fran would kill me if she knew I was here!" 

Max was starting to get scared. "Is something wrong with Miss Fine?" He asks worriedly. 

"Well, yes and no. Um, Mr. Sheffield, how do you feel about Fran? Please tell me the truth, it's very important." She says looking imploringly into his eyes. 

Her direct question sets something off in Max. The emotions of the last three days suddenly rush to him. Val is stunned as she witnesses tears actually form in his green eyes. "Oh, Miss Toriello. I'm in love with her!" He blurts out. The tears start to flow as he takes Val's hands in his own. "I was so afraid to tell her because she never gave me any indication of feeling for me. Now I've lost her forever! Oh, Miss Toriello...Val, I've been so bloody miserable the last few days!" He whispers looking imploringly into her eyes. 

Val instinctively puts her arm around him for comfort. She is thrilled, and a little surprised at his reaction. "Well, Mr. Sheffield, then I hope you are going to be happy to hear this. Fran is miserable too. She confided in me a few days ago that she has just discovered that she's in love with you." She looks hesitantly at Maxwell, hoping she did the right thing by coming here. 

Maxwell's head shoots up at her confession. His heart suddenly bursts with joy. He grabs Val and holds her arms looking happily in her eyes. "Oh, Val! Are you serious? She loves me!" 

Val is beyond thrilled at his reaction. She had been very nervous coming here. Fran really would have killed me if she ever found out that I told Mr. Sheffield of her feelings, especially if he didn't feel the same way back. "Mr. Sheffield, I'm sorry I didn't tell you two days ago, but my stupid car was being repaired again and I couldn't get here sooner." She pulls a piece of paper out of her purse. "Go get her, Mr. Sheffield." She says handing it to him. "She's staying at my apartment. Here's the address. I'll wait here so you two have some privacy." 

Max is stunned beyond belief. He looks at Val in a whole new light. "Oh, Val. Thank you! I will be forever grateful to you for coming here today!" He cries hugging her tightly. He runs out the door to his Lamborghini and speeds to Flushing.  

Val walks into the kitchen and is stunned as Niles takes her into his arms hugging her gratefully. "Miss Toriello...thank you." He whispers.  

Boy, I'm going to start hanging around here more often! The men in this house sure know how to show their gratitude! Val thinks happily. 

 

 

Fran goes to answer the soft knocking on Val's apartment door. She opens the door and gasps as she sees who's standing there. "Mister Sheffield! What are you doing here?" Oh, god! I'm so happy to see him. What's he here for? 

"Miss Fine. I'm sorry. I had to come here because you took something when you left, and I came to get it back." He says taking her hand. He looks tenderly into her eyes. 

Fran is very confused. "I'm sorry! What did I take?" She says worried that he thinks she would take something that didn't belong to her. 

"You!" He cries taking her in his arms and kissing her passionately.  

Oh my god! Fran thinks happily. Is this really happening? "Mr. Sheffield! What does this mean?" She whispers her heart pounding madly. She has to hang on to him because her knees were trembling so. 

" Miss Fine. I came here to tell you that I'm in love with you! Please don't marry Danny, I couldn't stand it if you did." He says pulling her close to him. His body is now trembling with emotion.  

"Oh, Mr. Sheffield, I love you, too!" She starts crying from happiness and utter relief that she wasn't going to have to make the biggest mistake of her life and marry Danny. "Please take me home." She cries hugging him tightly. 

 

*********************** 

 

Val answers the door of her modest basement apartment. "Valerie Toriello?" The courier asks. 

"Yes, I'm Valerie." She says confused. She hadn't been expecting any packages. 

"Please sign here." He says offering her his clipboard and a pen. She signs her name and looks at him curiously. He hands her an envelope, thanks her and leaves. 

Val opens the envelope. 

Dear Miss Toriello, Please step out to the curb and open the door of the red Mustang convertible that is parked out front. 

Now totally confused she walks out and sees the beautiful new car. She opens the unlocked door and finds another envelope. Val opens it and car keys fall out, along with another note. As she reads it, her fingers are trembling. 

Dear Miss Toriello, 

Words cannot express my gratitude. You gave me my beautiful Fran. You saved my life. I told you I would be forever grateful. Please accept this small token of my appreciation and gratitude. 

Love, Maxwell Sheffield 

Val gasps. She looks at the gorgeous sports car almost uncomprehendingly. "Oh, god!" She cries. Her hands are shaking as she puts the keys in the ignition of her new car. She starts it and heads to Manhattan to thank the most incredible man she has ever met. 

 

 

The End